March 6,
2019
The
sudden death last year of millions of Iraqi carp, used in the country's
signature dish, was caused by a strain of herpes harmless to humans, the United
Nations said Wednesday.
Iraqi
fish farmers south of Baghdad were left reeling in late 2018 after piles of
dead carp were found washed up on the banks of the Euphrates River or floating
in their cages.
Rumours
swirled over whether the fish were sick or the river had been poisoned, and
Iraqi politicians put the issue at the top of their agenda.
On
Wednesday, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) said a months-long
international investigation had pinned down the slippery source: the Koi Herpes
Virus.
"KHV
is a very serious and lethal disease that
is known to cause almost 100 percent mortality rates in carps," said Dr.
Thomas Wahli, who heads the Swiss Reference Laboratory for Notifiable Diseases.
Flame-grilled
carp seasoned with sauces made from onions and tomato and known as masgoof, is
Iraq's national delicacy.
The mass
deaths in the fish farms of Saddat al-Hindiyah in Babylon province, about 80
kilometres (50 miles) south of Baghdad, had panicked carp farmers, who said
they had lost thousands of dollars overnight.
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